tie down ropes

A

alger

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alger
The plane I fly is hangered and we do not have tie down ropes. I am flying into an airport and spending the day. Airport says that they do not provide tie down ropes and to bring your own. (I would probably go to this airport once a year but thought it woud be a good idea to carry them with me just in case I run into this situation at other airports.) Just wondering how many feet for the wings and tail is typical for a C152.

Thanks in advance.
 
I carry one 150' rope, but three 12' ropes will handle just about every situation. Climbing rope is best. Strong with just a tiny bit of give.
 
Thanks. I was guessing between 12' - 15'. Appreciate the help.
 
alger said:
Thanks. I was guessing between 12' - 15'. Appreciate the help.
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You might want to make sure that they have anchors to attach to. Seems just a little odd that they have anchors with no ropes. You can purchase portable, overnight anchor and rope kits that might come in handy for such trips.
 
It's not so much the size of your plane but the geometry of the anchors that governs how much rope you need. I have 3 25ft pieces of 5/8 'sta-set' line as you would use on a sailboat. The stuff is not cheap but with the outer layer protecting the load bearing fibers from UV, it tends to last. Also very easy to tie and untie knots. Similar in construction to climbing rope, just with less give. Climbers will usually stop using rope at some point, if you know someone you may be able to get a length for little or no money.
 
I double checked AirNav for 3W2. "no tie down ropes are prvvd. Please bring your own set."
 
Westmarine sells line (rope) for boats that is the best stuff I've ever used. The 182 ropes have been in service for twenty years and look brand new. I personally use 12' ropes for all three tiedown rings.

Put some shrink sleeving over the rope end, melt the rope end with flame, and then after it cools, shrink the sleeving over it.

As to anchors for grass/dirt, lots of folks will sell you "aircraft quality" anchors, especially at Oshkosh. Go down to the local hardware store and buy three foot-long bridge spikes (nails) for each tie down point. Buy a 4-link length of chain that the bridge spikes or rope will pass through. Buy a forged metal hammer. Hammer the nails into the ground through the chain in a triangle pattern. Fasten the rope to the remaining chain link. Leaving? Hammer the nails ever so gently AGAINST the direction you nailed them into the ground. They will either pull or hammer out quite easily. The 182 rode out half a dozen Wyoming thunderstorms one year when we made an emergency landing near Rawlins with these tiedowns.

Use a pair of old sweat socks. The nails and chain in one sock, the hammer in the other. Put them in a nylon tie-top bag and under the seat. No problems.

.
 
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Consider buying ropes made using high strength yarns including; Spectra, Dyneema or Kevlar.
 
For temporary use, cargo straps will work fine. You can use them for other stuff when you're not flying, and they pack small.
 
rainsux said:
Consider buying ropes made using high strength yarns including; Spectra, Dyneema or Kevlar.
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Consider buying ropes made with Nylon which will stretch a little and not jerk on the tiedown like the high tech materials.
 
> Nylon

A poor choice for cold climates. Nylon absorbs water. Water freezes. The ice crystals
nick the yarn, creating stress risers. Stress risers are a baaad thing.
 
I carry ropes because even when they do provide tie down ropes, they come up short when trying to tie down the navion. I also have a CLAW for when there aren't even rings.
 
If you are going to use flat strap material instead of a rope for a tie down, put 2 or 3 twists in it. It won't vibrate in the wind like it would if it were flat when you pull it tight. Pull them tight but don't crank on them. The non rachet type, with just the simple teeth that grab the strap work well.

Lots of airports don't provide ropes. In the winter they have to plow around the ropes leaving piles of snow and ice. The ropes also have a tendency to walk away. Rings that go through concrete are a little more resistant to walking.
 
alger said:
The plane I fly is hangered and we do not have tie down ropes. I am flying into an airport and spending the day. Airport says that they do not provide tie down ropes and to bring your own. (I would probably go to this airport once a year but thought it woud be a good idea to carry them with me just in case I run into this situation at other airports.) Just wondering how many feet for the wings and tail is typical for a C152.

Thanks in advance.
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Cheap M-cycle tie down cinch straps from the auto parts store will do.
 
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weirdjim said:
Citation?

.
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Nylon has a 4-5% moisture regain if you bake it in the oven, then let it normalize in the atmosphere. It relaxes (grows) as it gains water.

I work in an industry which uses billions (yes, billions) of pounds of nylon on an annual basis. Unscrupulous vendors will try and screw you by oversaturating the nylon with water and billing you $2/lb or thereabouts for the excess water.
 
> Cheap M-cycle tie down cinch straps from the auto parts store will do.


I worry about the cheesy hooks found on many auto/motorcycle hooks. Farm/implement stores seems to stock products with higher grade ends/attachments.
 
rainsux said:
> Cheap M-cycle tie down cinch straps from the auto parts store will do.


I worry about the cheesy hooks found on many auto/motorcycle hooks. Farm/implement stores seems to stock products with higher grade ends/attachments.
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We used to use swing set chain to swap engines lol, the load ability of those even cheesy steel hooks are stronger than the plane lol. I personally go to the boat store and get the ones with stainless steel hooks, but it's really just a matter of looks, any of them will do the job.
 
I don't trust the hooks. The first Oshkosh we flew into, the ground was a bit soft and during the late night thunderstorm with strong winds the rocking and rolling of the plane allowed the S hook to jump the ring. Fortunately I had real rope with me.
 
flyingron said:
I don't trust the hooks. The first Oshkosh we flew into, the ground was a bit soft and during the late night thunderstorm with strong winds the rocking and rolling of the plane allowed the S hook to jump the ring. Fortunately I had real rope with me.
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Yeah, if you can find ones with moused hooks you're styling, although 6" of string will mouse any of them. I use lines as well just because I typically always have some around.

As far as tying down at OSH or SnF, to me it's a joke, whenever I'm leaving I untie from the plane and just yank the whole thing out of the ground. I have no faith in any of those nail in devices into soil, especially sandy soil, to hold. The minimum thing I would consider as a tie down anchor in soil would be a T-post driven down at an angle all the way down with a shackle at the top to tie to.
 
Henning said:
As far as tying down at OSH or SnF, to me it's a joke, whenever I'm leaving I untie from the plane and just yank the whole thing out of the ground. I have no faith in any of those nail in devices into soil, especially sandy soil, to hold. The minimum thing I would consider as a tie down anchor in soil would be a T-post driven down at an angle all the way down with a shackle at the top to tie to.
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Can't vouch for sand, but soil like Oshkosh isn't easy to yank the claw out of. I was also in Cody and got a 70 MPH windstorm. It bent the hell out of the claw nails (and one leg on the yellow part) but it stayed down.
 
Henning said:
Yeah, if you can find ones with moused hooks you're styling, although 6" of string will mouse any of them. I use lines as well just because I typically always have some around.

As far as tying down at OSH or SnF, to me it's a joke, whenever I'm leaving I untie from the plane and just yank the whole thing out of the ground. I have no faith in any of those nail in devices into soil, especially sandy soil, to hold. The minimum thing I would consider as a tie down anchor in soil would be a T-post driven down at an angle all the way down with a shackle at the top to tie to.
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Yup, I would never tie town an airplane using a straight, nail like drive stake. I know that EAA says to use them over a screw type stake, but in the airship business, the auger/screw type stake is 100% the preferred method to tie the mooring mast to the ground.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
Yup, I would never tie town an airplane using a straight, nail like drive stake.
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I never said anything about using A nail. I said 3 nails, and if you read what I wrote, you put them into the ground at about 90 spherical degrees from one another, not straight into the dirt. That would be stupid. Nothing short of a backhoe will pull them out.

Jim
 
I use cargo straps, and always carry them in the airplane. They work fine. Racheting straps, and some extra rope where needed.

Always carry enough chocks for all the wheels, not just the nose or tailwheel.
 
weirdjim said:
I never said anything about using A nail. I said 3 nails, and if you read what I wrote, you put them into the ground at about 90 spherical degrees from one another, not straight into the dirt. That would be stupid. Nothing short of a backhoe will pull them out.

Jim
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Personally, from my experience in mooring airships and how the mast is secured, I'm still taking an auger type screw over 3 nails. But that's just my opinion. Take it for what its worth.
 
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KSCessnaDriver said:
Personally, from my experience in mooring airships and how the mast is secured, I'm still taking an auger type screw over 3 nails. But that's just my opinion. Take it for what its worth.
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There is a picture somewhere from the SnF tornado cleanup with a pile of broken off augers.
 
weilke said:
There is a picture somewhere from the SnF tornado cleanup with a pile of broken off augers.
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If you use cheap, small augers, they aren't going to hold. All told, an auger is going to hold more weight than a simple nail.
 
I built the EAA tie down kit....... Used it numerous times and so far it works GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!! I was one of the last planes that landed on Thursday before the storm rolled in... That was one IMPRESSIVE" roll cloud that was attached to that storm.:yikes::hairraise::eek:

http://www.vintageaircraft.org/magazine/aircraft_tiedown.pdf

Too bad this plane didn't have the proper tie downs.:sad:.. And the poor thunder mustang it landed on too. :sad::sad::(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1KP7teITOs

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=684908
 
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